Hoe



W. L. U PSON Dec. 15, 1953 HOE Filed Dec. 28. 1950 INVENTOR. WALTER L. UPSON, BY 7 A TTORNEYS.

Patented Dec. 15, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE HOE Walter L. Upson, Litchfield, Conn. Application December .28, 1950, Serial No. 263,111

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in hoes, and more particularly to an improved construction of the head includin the blade, formation of cutting edge of the blade, and improved means for attaching the blade to a handle for efficient manipulation of the head of the hoe.

This applicant is aware of numerous earlier, widely varying formations of the metal head and. cutting portions of hoes used for weeding purposes, cultivation of smaller areas of growing crops, and the like. Observations of the many varieties of cultivating and other hoes now available to the trade, and examination of many older designs and structures, have lead to the conclusion that none of these examples of prior structures aifords a head for a cultivrting hoe, which is set at the most desirable and eificient angle for its comfortable manipulation by the user, and which is fully resiliently supported by and connected to a handle element. It is accordingly a major and general objective of the present improvements to improve cutting and cultivating hoes in a manner to obviate noted shortcomings thereof, and to result in a hoe head, the cutt ng region. of which is presented at a more favorable and enicient angle to the surface of the earth and which is universally resiliently supported by and with respect to the handle.

A. further and highly important object of the present invention is realized in a hoe which is so formed as to exhibit a high degree of resilienc in a vertical or depthwise direction, relative to the es rth surface, as well as being highly resilient in the direction of pull of the hoe head, by the user.

Yet another object of the improvements is realized in a novel structure of metal hoe head such that the head is characterized by a large tapered passage or eye extending through the head just back of the cutting region of the hoe, which eye is of apprecir ble length and coacts with the blade and other portions of the head to act, when desired, as a billing agency.

Yet a further valuable object of the invention is realized in a novel form and arrangement of toothed cutting margin involving a preferably symmetrical arrangement of teeth on the cutting edge of the implement.

The foregoing and numerous other objects will more clearly become evident from the ensuing detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, particularly when considered in connection with the appended drawing forming a part hereof, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a top or plan view of the head portion of a sheet metal cultivating hoe, with a portion of the handle shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the hoe;

Fig. 3 is a frontal view of the head of the hoe as same would appear when viewed along the axis of the handle thereof, and

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a metal blank suitable for forming the head of the hoe.

Referring now by characters of reference, and first to the blank of Fig. 1, it will be seen that the flat metal blank A is characterized by an upper ab portion it! which, as will later appear, is

formed to provide a handle-receiving socket H designated in the remaining figures. With reference to the blank, the central region thereof, being the portion of maximum width, includes a pair of flat, lateral, strip-like arms l2 and I3. the region between which is preferably punched in forming the blank, so as to result in a somewhat oval central aperture is. That portion below the opening, in Fig. 4, may be referred to as even tually constituting the blade proper of the hoe, and which is indicated at is on the blank. In Fig. i the lowermost margin is deeply serrate or toothed, being characterized in the central region of the cutting portion I5, by a pair of outstanding, relatively wide teeth it and Ill, symmetrically disposed with respect to a longitudinal median through the blank and hence as will later appear, symmetrically arranged with respect to a vertical median plane through the completed head of the hoe. While a number of teeth such as it, i l, and the lesser teeth such as it and is disposed lat erally of the large center teeth, may be varied somewhat in pattern, arrangement and tooth area, it is greatly preferred in all cases to provide a prominent, sharp, centerrnost leading cutting edge which projects forwardly, i. e., toward the operator, somewhat farther than the remainder of the blade I5.

The formation of the head of the hoe from the blank of Fig. 4, after the latter has been provided with a distinct cutting edge along and intervening the several teeth and indicated at 22, is so formed that there results a central, substantially planar region in the blade l5. Such region, in the present embodiment, may be said to extend between the midlines of the teeth it, laterally of which regions the steel; is slightly upturned in the opposite margins of the blade. The relatively fiat or planar central region is indicated (Fig. 3) at 23. Beyond the sides of the blade proper E5, the two arms l2 and it which are highly resilient, are extended forwardly and upwardly, each of said arms being curved on a slightly irregular curve, yet each approximating a section of a cylinder formed on one of the lines XY (Fig. 1), it being noted that these lines will mutually intersect in a point or region which is close to a o) produced axis of the handle H, the latter being of course coincident with the axis of the handle socket ll.

Numerous experimental variants coupled with actual usage of the hoes under average gardening conditions, indicates that the described arrangement, extent and formation of the resilient arms result in a desirable degree of fore-and-aft yield or cushioning effect between the blade proper i5 and the handle I-l, this feature serving markedly to minimize the fatigue of the hands and arms incident to protracted periods of work. At the same time it will be noted that the divergence of the arms l2 and it, as perhaps best shown in Fig. 1, will result in a distinct depthwise or vertical resilience such that the blade proper may flex up and down without imparting corresponding movement to the handle socket 01' ferrule, many of the shocks in a vertical direction being absorbed by the arms.

Beyond a certain length of upward and outward trend of the resilient arms, their curvature results near their outermost portions in a further upward and rearward direction and in a distinct mutual divergence as shown by Fig. 1. The free end portions of the arms are preferably but not necessarily reversely curved on short radii, so as to result in a cylindrical or tubular socket to which reference was heretofore made at H, and which receives the lower end of the handle. The latter is secured as may be desirable, by the use of a headed through-pin or the like (not shown).

The curvature of the arms and the extent thereof when proportioned substantially as shown by the drawing, result in an angle between the axis of the socket i and the plane identified with central region of the whole blade, of the order of l-50 degrees with the result that when the handle l" is normally grasped by a user of average height, the substantially planar midregion of the blade i will be presented closely parallel to the surface of the soil over which the hoe is worked. It will be noted that this angle departs considerably from the usual angular relation obtaining between the handle and blade of conventional implements for similar purposes. Due to the curved formation of the arms l2 and I3, and the convergence of same near the top of the head, the provision of opening it will result in a short funnel-like character of the hoe head. This feature has been found advantageous for certain hilllng operations, since by actuating the hoe along predetermined line, the earth may thus be consolidated and relatively elevated so as to form a continuous hill, or if desired, a series of spaced hills, desirable for planting of certain garden and other crops.

The manner of usage of the improved hoe is thought to have become fully apparent from the foregoing detailed description of its parts, but it be noted for completeness that there is provided in the region of each of the arms i2 and i3 rather sharply curved reentrant portion located by the numeral 2& on blade l2, and 25 identifying the similar portion of blade l3. These rather sharply curved portions result in a short arch structure in each of these regions, and serve to confine the major fiexure of the parts to the arm regions proper, and to a certain lesser extent to the blade. It results from the formations 2t, 25 and the resilience of the arms, that as the head of the hoe is normally used, the blade proper is free to flex within fairly wide limits, in a rightto-left and left-to-right direction with reference 4 to Fig. 2. Similarly, the arrangement of arms permits deflection of the blade toward and away from the handle socket Ii, as earlier described, thus relieving the handle and the operator of vertical shock. The unusually prominent medial extended area identified with the teeth [6-41, offers the full advantage, but with a better angular presentation, of the corners of a conventional hoe sometimes used for trenching or cutting purposes in gardening work.

It will have now appeared that the structure as described, serves fully to realize each of the several objectives herein expressed and others implied. The detail of description of preferred structure should be understood solely in an illustrative, rather than in any limiting sense, numerous variants being possible within the full intended scope and spirit of the claim hereunto appended.

I claim as my invention:

A cultivating hoe adapted for ridging and hilling purposes formed of a blank of sheet metal, and including a blade portion provided with a deeply toothed cutting edge with the teeth thereof arranged symmetrically with respect to a longitudinal median line, and disposed along a substantially curved tooth line convexly presented toward the earth engaged by the hoe, the teeth in the central region being of materially greater area than the teeth laterally of the cutting edge; the blade portion being substantially planar over a major portion of its area in the center region of such portion and curved upwardly at each side of such portion; a pair of resilient arms of flat strip form extending forwardly and upwardly of the sides of the blade portion, thence rearwardly and. upwardly, the said arms being widely curved in form, each as a section of a cylinder produced on relatively convergent axes mutually intersecting close to a produced handle axis at about the working level of the hoe; the widely curved arms, which are formed as sections of said cylinders, and the blade portion constituting a convergent funnel-like throat structure of appreciable longitudinal dimension, the throat structure being convergent from front to back to provide a large front throat opening and a small elevated back throat opening that is disposed completely above the working level of the blade portion, the throat structure formed by the curved arms and cooperating blade portion being adapted laterally to consolidate and simultaneously to elevate earth from the front throat opening for discharge through the smaller back. throat opening, whereby to provide a hilling agency; the upper or outer extremities of the resllient arms being reversely curved toward each other and formed to provide an elongate tubular handle socket, the axis of which lies at an angle of the order of 49-50 degrees to the plane of the central blade portion, whereby to present the blade close to a parallel relation to the surface of the earth over which the hoe is worked.

WALTER L. UPSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

